The present invention relates to a holder for a compact disc and a package utilizing such a holder, and more particularly to such a holder and package which is environmentally acceptable, compactly storable by the user, and designed to discourage shoplifting thereof.
The compact disc or CD, a 4.7 inch diameter metallized plastic disc containing laser-readable information, has recently been a major force in the recorded music industry. It is also used (in one size or another) in the digital recording of data for information processing, interactive videodiscs and a variety of other non-musical applications. The CD has generally been packaged in a so-called "jewel box" formed of rigid plastic elements hingeably connected along one edge so as to open like a book. Although somewhat expensive to manufacture and assemble, the jewel box has become a standard in the industry because of its attractive appearance and the high level of protection it affords to the CD. The paperboard package in which the jewel box is displayed for sale and sold is frequently greatly oversized relative to the CD or jewel box (often having a length or width which is twice the diameter of the CD) in order to discourage shoplifting thereof by making it more difficult for the potential shoplifter to hide the package in pocket or purse. However, the jewel box has come under very strong attack by environmental groups because of its use of a non-biodegradable material (i.e., plastic) in great quantities due to the sheer volume of CD's being sold, and the paperboard packaging therefor has also come under attack because of its use of a valuable resource (i.e., paperboard) in great quantities due to the oversized nature of the packaging relative to the jewel box.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,812 illustrates an attempt to provide a CD package which, with the exception of a CD holder formed of plastic, is made exclusively of a biodegradable material (i.e., paperboard). The package is formed from a pre-scored, pre-printed unitary blank or sheet having two rows, each row having a like number of sections, with the rows being disposed so that the second row may be folded over the first row, with the overlying sections forming segments and the segments eventually being placed in an overlying configuration. The aforementioned package has not proven to be entirely satisfactory in use. In order to increase the effective size of the package so as to discourage shoplifting thereof, the package must be inserted into a larger carton, thereby increasing the cost of materials, the assembly cost, and again provoking environmental concerns because of the paperboard resource which is wasted when the carton is taken home, separated from the packaging, and discarded. Further, because a package made from a blank having two rows of three sections each has a thickness of six sections plus the thickness of the compact disc holder, the package is not as compact as the jewel box and may not fit into previously purchased storage boxes having a plurality of compartments, each compartment being adapted to hold an article having the thickness of only a jewel box.
It has been proposed to modify the above-described package by making it from a 2.times.4 section blank, so that the package will have four segments folded over to form two overlying layers (one behind the plane of the CD and one in front of it) and then temporarily rigidify this structure with rigid plastic strips removably affixed as longitudinal side pieces in order to provide a structure which is large enough to deter shoplifting thereof (due to the presence of the rigidifying plastic strips) and yet after purchase and discarding of the plastic strips, can be folded into approximate jewel box size. This proposal introduces its own problems, including the additional expense required to manufacture the plastic strips and assemble them onto the paperboard package, the environmental concerns raised by the plastic strips which must be discarded after purchase, and the like.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a CD package which is environmentally acceptable and yet of such a size as to deter shoplifting thereof.
Another object is to provide such a CD package including a novel CD holder which can be deployed to rigidify the package at a size sufficient to deter shoplifting thereof, yet can be collapsed after purchase in order to permit folding of the package to substantially the dimensions of a conventional jewel box.
Yet another object is to provide such a shrink-wrapped CD package wherein only the shrink wrapping must be disposed of after purchase.
A further object is to provide such a CD holder.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a CD package which is economical to manufacture, easy to assemble, and of rugged, sturdy construction.